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Blackberries (Rubus) are part of a large plant family also known as brambles. As with raspberries, black raspberries and dewberries, the name derives from the growing habit of the wild plant, which produces long, trailing, unmanageable vines. Most domesticated varieties grow on tall, stiff canes, and their shiny reddish-black fruits ripen in late summer.

Plant Characteristics

Blackberries originally grew wild in fields, on hillsides and along woodland edges. Unmanaged and untended, the trailing vines wrapped themselves around whatever they came into contact with as well as with one another, often creating impenetrable thickets that made most of the fruit hard to get at. At best, only the berries growing on the outermost vines could be harvested, and the rest were left to rot or serve as food for whatever wild creature was able to get at them. Blackberry foliage is deep green with toothed leaves growing from short stems along the canes, and they do best in areas that receive at least 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight each day. While normally thorny, plants that produce berries on thornless canes are also available. What appears to be a single berry is actually a composite of tinier berries, called drupes, surrounding a greenish-white core that emerges from the blackberry blossoms at fruit-setting time.

Cultivation Facts

While trailing blackberry plants are still available, many of today's cultured varieties grow on tall, stiff canes that emerge from crowns buried in the soil and from which new shoots form constantly. If not removed, the shoots sap energy from the fruit-producing branches that grow upright on erect plants or grow along the ground on trailing varieties. Once new blackberry plants are established, it takes three years for them to bear the first crop. They do best in sandy soil that drains readily. Some growers choose to grow their blackberries on raised beds, because standing water can be deadly to blackberry plants. It's also important to put mulch down at the base of the plants to control weeds, which can drain nutrients from the soil and promote disease and insect infestations. Erect plants should be trimmed to keep them at a manageable height, and dead canes should be removed to redirect energy to the fruit-bearing canes.

Uses

Blackberries are grown commercially as well as in the home garden. They are canned, frozen, made into jams, jellies, syrups and wines, and used in baked goods such as pies and cakes. The sweet berries can be left whole and added to desserts and salads or crushed into sauces. Care should be taken when harvesting them so as not to pack them too tightly together. Freshly picked berries should not be washed and picked over until ready to use, as this promotes rapid deterioration of the tender fruit.

Nutritional Information

Oregon State University reports that blackberries contain the proven antiviral and antibacterial substances gallic acid and rutin, as well as a known anticarcinogenic called ellagic acid that delays the onset of certain types of cancers. They also have one of the highest antioxidant levels among other fruits that have been tested, as well as high levels of potassium, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, phosphorus and protein, and vitamins A, E and K. One cup of blackberries contains 62 calories, 7.6 grams of fiber, less than 8 grams of total sugars and just 1 milligram of sodium.

About the Author

Rachel Lovejoy has been writing professionally since 1990 and currently writes a weekly column entitled "From the Urban Wilderness" for the Journal Tribune in Biddeford, Maine, as well as short novellas for Amazon Kindle. Lovejoy graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.